1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to safety devices for shielding medical needles. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a needle locking assembly for shielding an insertion needle of an intravenous (I.V.) catheter assembly.
2. Background of Related Art
Safety devices for shielding needles of medical devices are well known in the art. Such devices minimize the risks associated with inadvertent needle stick injuries which subject doctors, nurses and medical personnel to exposure to HIV, hepatitis and other serious blood-borne pathogens. I.V. catheter assemblies are also known in the art and typically include a catheter which is dimensioned to be positioned into a patient's vasculature and a needle having a sharp tip which is provided to facilitate placement of the catheter into the patient's vasculature. In use, after placement of the catheter, the needle is separated from the catheter and disposed of safely. One problem associated with the use of I.V. catheters is the risk to medical personnel of needle stick injury during disposal of the needle after separation of the needle from the catheter. To minimize the risks to medical personnel during needle disposal, the use of locking clip assemblies which engage the needle to confine the needle tip within a housing have become well known.
Typically, current locking clip assemblies include a spring clip which is used in combination with an insertion needle having an area of increased diameter. The area of increased diameter may be formed by deforming the needle or securing, such as by welding, an annular ring to the needle. The area of increased diameter creates a positive stop for preventing the needle from separating from the locking clip. Such locking clip devices, due to the increased diameter of the insertion needle, may cause discomfort to a patient. In addition, where an annular ring is secured to the insertion needle, the risk exists that the annular ring will become detached from the insertion needle and occlude flow within a patient's vasculature.
Other known locking clip devices include a spring clip which applies a spring force directly to the insertion needle shaft to cause rotation of the spring clip into a binding orientation with the insertion needle. See U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/698,869 and 10/585,987. Such a spring force applied to the insertion needle by the spring clip may create a high drag force on the insertion needle as it is separated from the catheter assembly making it difficult for a clinician to remove the insertion needle from the catheter assembly.
Accordingly, a need exists in the medical arts for an I.V. catheter assembly which includes a locking clip device which does not suffer from the drawbacks identified above, but is easy to manufacture and functions reliably.